The Northern Lights were visible across parts of Ireland last night, with one photographer capturing the display over Buncrana, Co Donegal.
Pink and green illuminations were recorded lighting up the night sky above many regions of the country, with the above video from Adam Rory Porter filmed from around 5.30pm yesterday evening.
The auroras, which are most commonly seen over high polar latitudes but can spread south, are chiefly influenced by geomagnetic storms which originate from activity on the sun.
The sun works on a cycle of about 11 years called the solar cycle – with peak sunspot activity on the surface of the sun referred to as solar maximum.
Sunspots give the potential for Earth-directed releases of large bursts of energy, called coronal mass ejections, which can lead to aurora visibility.
Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.
The Northern Lights were visible over Irish skies on a few occasions last year.
Read more: How Northern lights have fascinated Irish people for centuries
